NEWS + ANALYSIS

The need for a free flow of people, goods, and services is central to economic growth in West Africa. Regional trade is critical for supplying reasonably priced essential goods and creating more jobs for the African people, but the continent lags far behind the rest of the world. One of the key components of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Protocol promises the “free movement of persons and goods,” but despite the official support of 16 member countries, this has been procedurally unattainable in practice. Free trade remains illusory in West Africa.